COLUMBIA – South Carolina leading scorer Kamilla Cardoso took control early in the second half Sunday and the top-ranked Gamecocks pulled away to beat Ole Miss, 85-56, in women’s basketball at Colonial Life Arena.

Cardoso scored 10 straight points, 5-for-5 shooting, as South Carolina stretched to a 52-39 lead in what was a one-point game late in the first half. That advantage was 16 by the fourth quarter.

Cardoso finished with 17 points and played barely a minute in the first quarter because of foul trouble, At halftime, she had four. Cardoso, a 6-foot-7 senior center, scores 13.7 points (with 10.1 rebounds) per game and came in averaging 15.7 in the last five.

MiLaysia Fulwiley scored 13 for South Carolina. Ashlyn Watkins, Te-Hina Paopao each had 11.

South Carolina (21-0, 9-0 SEC) is back home at 7 p.m. Thursday against Missouri. Ole Miss (16-5, 6-3) will play host 7:30 Thursday to Texas A&M.

Early shooting woes again for South Carolina

South Carolina had early shooting trouble for the second straight game.

The Gamecocks made only one jump shot in the first quarter, going 5-for-13 from the floor, and also missed their only two free throws. That allowed Ole Miss to stay within 17-15 through that period and the Rebels were down only 32-31 with three minutes until halftime.

Thursday in a 76-54 win at Auburn, the Gamecocks were 0-for-8 on 3-pointers. They didn’t make one against Ole Miss until the final minute of the first half. Tessa Johnson made one from the corner to end an 0-for-6 skid by her team.

Watkins takes advantage of second start

South Carolina sophomore forward Watkins made just her second career start, following up her first Thursday, and had her second straight double-doubled adding 10 rebounds with her 11 points.

Watson subbed for Chloe Kitts, who missed the Auburn game with illness. Watson had a career high 15 rebounds and 14 points (two short of a personal best) against the Tigers. She stayed hot Sunday, scoring five of the Gamecocks’ first seven points and had eight points in the first 11 minutes of the game.

South Carolina stacking up sellouts

Sunday’s game was the third sellout at Colonial Life Arena for the Gamecocks this season and marked the first time it’s happened in back-to-back games, following the Jan. 28 win (91-74) against Vanderbilt.

The third has not yet been played. South Carolina’s home game next Feb. 11 (2 p.m.) in the 18,000-seat arena is officially sold out as well.

South Carolina is also home at 7 p.m. Thursday against Missouri, the middle of a three-game homestand. The Gamecocks play Feb. 15 at Tennessee.

This article originally appeared on Herald-Journal: No. 1 South Carolina women's basketball pulls away to beat Ole Miss